Luxated Patella
Well, it has happened... We are experiencing something new with our Bella. All these years having pets and this is new to me. I took her to the vet yesterday after noticing that she was limping quite...
Forum Discussion
Luxating Patella is one of the most common orthopedic problems we see. It's very common in small toy breeds, especially poodles.
Congenital problems are due to poor conformation in the rear legs and a shallow patellar groove in the femur. Surgical correction involves making the groove deeper, tightening collateral ligaments around the knee and possibly rerouting the patellar tendon by moving the tibial tuberosity (the prominence on the front part of the knee just below the patella). Anybody who has done carpentry can imagine the procedures here; saws, drills, screws, rasps working with bone rather than wood.
The glucosamine/joint supplements do not correct the luxation, but can delay arthritis.
Luxations are graded from 1 to 4 (1 being mild and 4 being severe). Surgery is recommended when grades 3 or 4 are present.
I have gotten a lot less aggressive about surgery on these guys. I usually recommend surgery when there is persistent pain, other joint damage - like ACL or cartilage tears and when there is such severe deformity that normal walking is an issue.
I have found that any joint that has been invaded with surgery WILL develop osteoarthritis in the future. The reason for surgery is to delay the onset and/or severity of the arthritis.
Small dogs (<40#) usually do well with doing nothing. However, the joint is less stable thus more prone to injury. Their behavior can often exacerbate these issues (jumping up and down on their back legs). Rapid direction changes while running can lead to other joint damage - like ACL - when the joint is less stable due to the patellar luxation.
This is not a straight forward easy decision. There are pros and cons without even considering the financial aspects.
Doug, DVM
Congenital problems are due to poor conformation in the rear legs and a shallow patellar groove in the femur. Surgical correction involves making the groove deeper, tightening collateral ligaments around the knee and possibly rerouting the patellar tendon by moving the tibial tuberosity (the prominence on the front part of the knee just below the patella). Anybody who has done carpentry can imagine the procedures here; saws, drills, screws, rasps working with bone rather than wood.
The glucosamine/joint supplements do not correct the luxation, but can delay arthritis.
Luxations are graded from 1 to 4 (1 being mild and 4 being severe). Surgery is recommended when grades 3 or 4 are present.
I have gotten a lot less aggressive about surgery on these guys. I usually recommend surgery when there is persistent pain, other joint damage - like ACL or cartilage tears and when there is such severe deformity that normal walking is an issue.
I have found that any joint that has been invaded with surgery WILL develop osteoarthritis in the future. The reason for surgery is to delay the onset and/or severity of the arthritis.
Small dogs (<40#) usually do well with doing nothing. However, the joint is less stable thus more prone to injury. Their behavior can often exacerbate these issues (jumping up and down on their back legs). Rapid direction changes while running can lead to other joint damage - like ACL - when the joint is less stable due to the patellar luxation.
This is not a straight forward easy decision. There are pros and cons without even considering the financial aspects.
Doug, DVM
